Countdown

One week at most! Yeah!!! Induction day is coming up next Friday the 7th!

At my doctor's appointment on Thursday, the doctor said Brigham was still really high, and I was still at 2 cm... I said, "2? I've been told 3 before....?" She told me, "Ummm, nope, you're a 2."

Grrrrr.... I cried on the way home. Even if I've been a 2 the whole time, I thought I was a 3, and therefore this feels like backward progress.

I've told Justin the last few days, "If I'm going to have contractions and be so uncomfortable and keep thinking I might be going into labor, I wish I'd actually just BE in labor already!"

I've started doing a few extra ups and downs on the stairs and when I feel like I'd rather just sit on the couch, I get up and do something productive. It probably won't do anything to put me into labor and will just end up making me tired and even more uncomfortable for the next week. Oh well....

We're basically into January so anytime now, I'm ready for Brigham to come!

Speaking of making it into January, tonight we were invited to a friend's house in the ward to celebrate New Years, New York style. This means at 10:00, instead of midnight, we counted down, yelled "Happy New Year!", went home and will be in bed by 10:30. It's great! This has potential to become a tradition. I feel old, but I don't care ;)

We were also able to get all our outside lights taken down this morning. It's amazingly scary to watch Justin climbing all over the roof! He survived though and I took it easy by handling the lights on the bushes :)


Carrie in her new puffy vest she got for Christmas. I think she looks like a little pink eskimo when she has the hood on.

A few pictures from the Sunday before Christmas. I forgot my camera, but my friend Corynn had hers at church and took some pictures of Jake and Carrie in their Christmas outfits.

Such little cuties. They love to hold hands and give hugs and kisses (this might be a problem in about 15 years)

Our Christmas angel

Our 2010 has been great fun! Here's hoping 2011 will be even better!

Martha Stewart's Mini-Me

Carrie LOVES her play kitchen! She hardly touches any of her old toys anymore. It's all about "making dinner". I had to grab a few quick pictures the other day while she was "baking a pie".

First, put on the oven mitt

Next, open the oven

Put the pie inside

"Am I doing it right mommy?"

And last, close the door
I know you can't really see, but she even looks Martha Stewart-y in her turtleneck, apron and pearl necklace :)

38 Weeks and Losing My Mind!

First, the latest belly picture of me at 38 weeks. People keep saying how tiny I am, but I just don't see it! Anyways, only a week and a half until induction day (January 7th)! We made it through Christmas weekend which was my first hope. Next, I hope we make it through the rest of this week and into January :)

Now, onto the "losing my mind" part... This morning, on my way out of the neighborhood to go to Walmart, I stopped at the mail boxes to drop off a bill. I got out, closed my door so as to not block traffic, and 10 seconds later when I tried to get back in the van....

IT WAS LOCKED!!!

I have NO idea how it happened! The door was obviously unlocked for me to have been able to get out, and I truly do not remember locking it before I shut my door... So now, Carrie was stuck inside. The van was running and it's not crazy Arizona summer outside, so she was ok, but grrr....

Of course, the only spare key is on Justin's keyring, with him, in Phoenix. 40 minutes away... And he didn't even drive himself to work today. It was his carpool buddy's turn so he wouldn't even really have had a way to get back home.

So this is how my morning turned out

Non-emergency police and fire department.... :) They were very nice and helpful. They said they could try to open the door, but there were chances of the door frame and/or window getting damaged. Because the weather was mild, they called a locksmith for me and waited with me for him to come and open the door.

Carrie got pretty bored and whiny being stuck in her carseat the whole time, so I was singing itsy-bitsy spider and patty-cake with her through the window.

Once the locksmith came it was a matter of 30 seconds and I was back inside!! And because Carrie was inside the car, the locksmith was free! Quite the dramatic situation, but it all turned out ok in the end. What a morning!!!

Christmas Day Festivities

We all got a fun little surprise present Christmas morning when Carrie woke up and started to call out for "Daddy!" I was happy because I got to stay in bed and even though Justin got up to get her, he was happy because she wanted him and not me :)

Carrie's Santa present! A play kitchen!
Because Santa is so busy delivering presents all night, he often drops toys off unassembled and asks kids' moms and dads to be Santa's helpers and put things together. Holy Cow.... What an assembly project this kitchen was! It came in in about 200 pieces! But we're so pleased with the final product we got (after about 3 hours!)

It was the first thing Carrie saw when she came down and she immediately started gathering utensils etc. and bringing them into the big kitchen to set the table for us!

"Even though the kitchen is really cool, I want to check out Savannah's Santa present, a big girl bike!"

"I'm going to need a little help from dad to get on and stay on though!"

Carrie's favorite thing from her stocking? Lip gloss... What else? We've already had to hide it a few times because she'll spend ten minutes straight putting it on and end up with it all over her face and in her mouth!

What an exhausting morning! Carrie decided to chill and take a break in her new chair from Allie!

Thanks Beeson family!!

Poor little Rugby looks like a toy doll buried in all his Christmas presents!

Yummy train wreck casserole and monkey bread for breakfast!

What a great idea Santa had to get Carrie a play kitchen. :) She LOVES it!

Me with a pile of our family's Christmas spoils! (I didn't know Justin was taking this picture, or I might have looked up and smiled)

Christmas evening, we went to Michael and Alysha's hotel where they treated us to dinner in the hotel restaurant. It was delicious and we didn't have to cook it or clean it up! (Actually, I didn't have to clean ANY meals up this weekend, thanks to Justin's wonderful family who told me to sit and relax instead. Thanks guys!)

Then we went swimming at the hotel. We were going to get in the heated pool, but even though it was heated, it was barely what I'd call warm-ish... Not fun when it's 50 degrees outside with the wind blowing. Instead, we went to the hot tub. Normally, pregnant women aren't supposed to get in the hot tub, but this one wasn't really hot, it was just nice and warm, pretty much like a bathtub. We haven't been swimming in months and really enjoyed it!

Late Sunday morning Michael and Alysha's family headed home and the rest of us went to church. We only stayed for sacrament meeting because we've all been sick the last several days. (Yucky coughs and stuffy, runny noses)

Carrie curled up in the chair again after church.

And you can say "Bah Humbug", call me "Scrooge", or as Justin said, "The Grinch"... Christmas is allll put away. Yeah!

After we came home from church I got into a mood where I realized that cleaning up Christmas was going to be a big project and I'd better get started. Well, with help from Justin, his parents and his grandma, it only took about an hour! We got all the decorations put away, the under-the-stairs closet organized and the regular house decorations put back up (family pictures, books etc...) I'm so glad it's done and I won't have to worry about it when I'm in the hospital with Brigham.

We had a wonderful Christmas weekend with Justin's family! I'm sad two of his sisters weren't able to come, but we enjoyed hanging out, eating, and playing games with everyone who could come.

And super thanks to Justin's parents and Grandma who washed their own sheets and towels and cleaned the whole house before they left this morning! What a fantastic Christmas present for me!!!

Christmas Eve

To start off, here are a few pictures from around the house to show our holiday spirit.

The beautiful outside lights!

Our Christmas card center! Down the middle are all the things from our "secret elves"

The tree, before Santa even came! These are just the presents between family members. My how we're blessed!!

The stockings Justin's mom brought. Rebecca, Carrie, Justin, Michael, Savannah, & Alysha

Our own little family's stockings. Justin pointed out how weird it was that he's "Dad" :)

Justin's mom and me proudly posing in front of our Christmas Eve feast. We worked hard all morning to make everything and it was delicious! Ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, crescent rolls, green salad, pink salad, pumpkin pie and apple pie!! (Justin's dad and grandma helped too!)

Carrie was so excited to be able to open her traditional Christmas Eve present!

Jammies! Yeah!

Justin was really excited about his Christmas Eve present too.... hahaha. They're boxers that have the Tazmanian Devil on the front. The front says, "Forget nice," and the back, as you can see says, "I like it naughty". We thought it was really funny :)

All the men showing off their boxers. Michael's have Grumpy on them and say, "Bah Humbug", and Justin's dad's have Scooby Doo asking, "Who's your Santa?"

After watching the boys get their picture taken, Carrie had to get in on the can-can dance action

All the kiddos (Carrie, Rugby and Savannah) in their snuggly Christmas jammies ready for bed.

Day 12: The Infant Jesus

Luke 2:

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn...

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Dear Secret Elves,

Whoever you are.... Thank you so much for the 12 days of Christmas. It was amazing and we appreciate it more than you can know! It's been so exciting to know that every evening our doorbell would ring and we would be receiving a new gift that reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas. We hope someday to be able to pass on this beautiful idea to another family. :)

Thank you again, and we hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Love, The Greer family

Day 11: The Mother Mary

Luke 1:

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

30 Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Cookies!!

This morning, my mom, my sister Marissa, and my youngest brother Jake came over to bake cookies with Carrie. To make it easier to get straight to the fun part (decorating), they brought some pre-made sugar cookie dough.

Carrie cutting out shapes

Frosting with some help from Grandma Lori

Sprinkles! Lots and lots of sprinkles!

The finished product... It started a s a snowman, but the shape disappeared when it baked.

Jake salvaged a botched batch of cookies (they totally "melted" together when they baked). He cut a few pieces off and created our giant gingerbread man! Yummy!

In the early afternoon, Justin's parents and grandma arrived at our house for the weekend. Justin's mom and grandma joined me at my doctor's appointment where we got some good news. There is no change since last week! I'm still about 3 cm and 70%! Hopefully this means we'll last through Christmas and the rest of December without Brigham deciding to show up! I would really like it if he waited until January to make an appearance. But I'm also antsy and excited; at the latest, we'll be meeting him in 2 weeks and 1 day!!

Day 10: The Father Joseph

Matthew 1:

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JesusL for he shall save his people from their sins.


"1. The father is the head in his family... 2. The father is a teacher... 3. The father is the temporal provider..." L. Tom Perry

*Note from the secret elves* P.S. The "shepherd" we gave you for the nativity is actually Joseph. Our bad. :) Why he's holding a staff... don't ask us. :)

Therefore, the gift we received for Joseph, was a tie for Justin, the "Joseph" of our family.

Day 9: The Wise Men

Matthew 2:
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2 Saying, Where is he that is born, King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him, and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.


"When we find him, will we be prepared as were the wise men of old to provide gifts from our many treasures? They presented gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These are not he gifts Jesus asks of us. From the treasure of our hearts Jesus asks that we give ourselves: 'Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind" (D&C) 64:34)." -Thomas S. Monson

Day 8: The Shepherds

Luke 2:

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

NST & AFI for BBB

What? You don't know what that means?

How about this? Non-stress test and Amniotic fluid index for baby brother Brigham.

That about sums up my doctor's appointment this morning. They strapped me to a contraction and fetal heart-rate monitor for about 15 minutes and then did a quickie ultrasound to measure amniotic fluid levels.

All is well, and I'll be going in for my regular OB visit on Thursday. I'll be 37 weeks tomorrow, yeah! Another short update, but I've been told any update is appreciated by most family and friends!

Christmas Traditions

Last night we were able to go into Mesa to do some pre-Christmas festivities with my family since we'll be with Justin's family for Christmas this year. After dinner, we opened our traditional Christmas Eve gift: Pajamas! Carrie's have a snowman on the front ans they say "snow angel".


Then we went to our friends the Beesons and had our white elephant gift exchange game. Usually, we buy dollar store goodies for gifts. This year was truly white elephant though. My parents decided just on Sunday morning that we'd to do most of our Christmas Eve traditions a few days early (in this case, Sunday). No one was able to go out and buy gifts, so we really had to scrounge around our houses. We took a broken polaroid camera we got from goodwill, an old putter, and regifted one of last year's white elephants of a "growing" alligator toy (when you put it in water it expands).

Carrie wearing one of the gifts, neon yellow plastic aviator sunglasses! We ended up bringing home some toy cars (which Carrie loves), a paper airplane and a package of microwave popcorn :)


The next part of the night, we've actually never done before, but it was really cool. It has good potential to become a tradition.

All we knew when we went was there was a house with some cool lights and train display. We had no idea what we were getting into!

First of all, when we drove up, the streets were lined with cars, the church parking lot next door was packed full, and there was a HUGE line of people waiting to get into the backyard.

Santa was there too! Carrie got to sit on his lap again.

"Look! He gave me a sucker!!" (The best part according to her, I'm sure).

And now, tah-dah! The train display! The picture really doesn't do it justice at all! There was probably a full acre of toy/model train tracks and functioning toy/model trains complete with miniature tunnels, landscaping, junk yard, work yards, trucks, people etc... It was AWESOME!

Getting the view from the "lookout platform"

In front of the house (when we first walked up, I thought this was"it". I was disappointed until we actually got into the backyard and saw the "real" show.)

Justin went to bed "early" as usual, since he goes to work so early. I, however, stayed up until 1 am with my dad and brothers putting together a 550 piece puzzle one of them got from the white elephant exchange. It was so much fun. I haven't done a puzzle like that in forever!

Even though it was a few days early, it was fun to be able to celebrate some traditions with my family this year in addition to everything we'll be doing with Justin's family!